PLEXUS Holdings, the oil and gas technology firm, has said trading remains strong in spite of the recent fall in oil prices and expressed hope the Wood Report into the North Sea would help spur a much-needed increase in exploration off Scotland.

Reporting record profits of £5 million for the year to 30 June, Aberdeen-based Plexus said it has a healthy order book and good visibility regarding its core business of renting wellheads for use in exploration drilling.

However, following a year of limited sales growth in the core North Sea area, Plexus highlighted the low level of exploration drilling in the region.

Noting that industry body Oil & Gas UK has said there is an urgent need for substantially more exploration to maximise the potential of the North Sea, Plexus said it hopes the report into the North Sea completed by oil services tycoon Sir Ian Wood in February will help galvanise activity.

Sir Ian said fiscal reforms and greater collaboration between firms and the government could encourage firms to drill more wells.

Plexus's chairman Jeffrey Thrall said: "Helpfully the UK industry knows that [exploration] needs to increase substantially and the important Wood Report will, we hope, be a positive catalyst and blueprint for a resurgence in the future, particularly for High Pressure/High Temperature activity where new UK tax incentives have been introduced."

Plexus awaits the expected publication of the results of a government review of the North Sea fiscal regime in December with interest.

Following the fall in Brent crude prices from $115 per barrel in June to a four-year low of $80 recently, Mr Thrall said the industry faced a range of challenges.

He noted: "Questions about the health of the Eurozone, and in particular Germany; oil price falls; reduction of Quantitative Easing in the US and Europe; health of emerging markets; Middle East conflicts and even Ebola in West Africa all make a particularly toxic mix for world economic confidence."

But Mr Thrall said it was clear that demand for energy would continue to trend higher over the long term.

Plexus noted it had been winning a wider following for its technology, which it claims allows firms to drill wells more efficiently and cheaply.

The company made inroads into territories such as China and Morocco in the year to June, when sales outside Europe grew 17 per cent annually, to £10.2m.

Total sales increased by 5.7 per cent, to £27.02m, from £25.57m in the preceding year.

Profit after tax increased 65.1 per cent, to £5.05m, from £3.06m.

Aim-listed Plexus proposed a 12.7 per cent increase in the final dividend to 0.62p per share, from 0.55p.